Difference between お〜する and いたす when making a request

Japanese
#1

A question during a review had this sentence :

これを彼かれにお渡わたししてください。

I wondered if I could replace the する here with いたす like in some of the examples given in the lessons about お〜する and いたす. An example for each:

ドアをお 閉しめします 。

and

駅えきの前まえでお 待まちいたします。

So I tried to put in :

これを彼かれにお渡わたしいたしてください。

But it got marked as incorrect. I also asked ChatGPT (I know it’s not really that reliable) and it also said it was wrong because it is a double-humble form. However, when I tried to check this sentence:

これを彼かれにお渡わたしいたします。

ChatGPT said it’s correct. The only difference between the two is that the former is a request while the latter is a simple declaration. They both use お and いたす.

Does that mean that while you can pretty much use いたす to replace する in お〜する, the exception would be when making a request?

Can いたす ever be used in a request? If not, is it because it refers to the actions of the speaker (or people within the speakers inner circle, like their company), but doesn’t that also apply to お〜する?

Thanks!

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#3

Here is Chatgpt’s answer to “Can いたす ever be used in a request?”:

While the auxiliary verb “いたす” (itasu) is typically used to show respect and politeness in Japanese, it can be used in a request if you are asking someone of higher status, such as a boss or teacher, to do something for you.

For example, you might say “お手数ですが、これをご確認いただけますか” (Otesū desu ga, kore wo go-kakunin itadakemasu ka) which means “I’m sorry to trouble you, but could you please check this for me?” Here, the verb “いただく” (itadaku) is used instead of “いたす” to show respect to the listener.

However, in most cases, it’s more common to use more polite and humble expressions such as “お願いできますか” (Onegai dekimasu ka) or “お願いします” (Onegai shimasu) when making a request to someone in a formal or polite setting.

Here is an example sentence ChatGpt made using いたす:

お手数ですが、この書類をご確認いたしていただけませんか。

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#4

Thanks for responding!

Here is ChatGPT’s response when I asked “Can いたす ever be used in a request?”, it also replaced いたす with いただく. So I guess, you really can’t use いたす as all his examples used いただく.

ChatGPT’s response was :

Yes, the grammar point いたす can be used in a request to make it more polite. The verb いたす is the humble form of する (to do) and is used to show respect to the listener or the person being talked about. For example, instead of saying “してください” (please do it), you can say “していただけますか” or “していただけませんか” to make the request more polite and respectful. Similarly, instead of saying “食べてください” (please eat), you can say “召し上がっていただけませんか” to make it more polite.

#5

Of course you can use いたす in requests, but it doesn’t work with ください or polite expressions in general. E.g. replace してください with 早く致せ!! or something. It will make you sound like a super arrogant anime character though so if that’s not what you want to sound like, I can’t recommend it.

For normal people, 致す is either a humble or a polite form of する. Like お〜する, you should only use お〜致す for your own actions that also affect the person you’re speaking with. Alternatively, you can use 致す without お as a more polite version of する for your own actions regardless of whether the other person is affected by them or not.

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#6

Thanks a lot for the clarification!